The dmedia Numen finally accomplished mission impossible by topping the Yulon Dinos for the first time this season in a convincing 109-95 victory at the Taipei County sports Complex on Saturday evening.
Behind another fine all-around performance by last month's MVP Jonathan Sanders, who rang up his fifth double-20 outing of the season with 29 points and 21 rebounds, the Numen put a big smile on skipper Wu Jien-guo's face as they improved to a season-best seven games above .500 with a 14-7 record.
"We've definitely come a long way, from a team that did not even make it into the playoffs and was forced to find another owner to title contenders," Wu said after his team's win over the three-time champs.
Four threes by the Numen's long-range bombers in the first quarter quickly opened up a surprising 14-4 lead for the underdogs.
Even though Yulon finished the quarter with a slew of threes of their own to trail the Numen 22-26, this only spurred the Numen on and they led 50-34 at halftime.
Spectacular drives to the hoop by the Dinos' Chen "Airman" Hsin-an, coupled with four threes from the perimeter, brought the league-leaders to within nine points of dmedia with less than four minutes remaining in the third.
But every time the Dinos seemed ready to cut further into the deficit, Sanders frustrated them with crucial rebounds off the offensive glass for easy put-backs or by finding an open man to kill off another Dinos rally, maintaining the double-digit advantage.
The loss cost the Dinos sole possession of the lead in the standings for the first time this season, as they dropped to a 16-6 mark, level with Taiwan Beer.
Tigers 97, Pure Youth 77
The Tigers rose to the occasion by trouncing the previously red-hot Pure Youth Constructions 97-77 on Saturday night to reclaim fourth place in the standings from the team that took it from them the night before.
Following an incredible comeback win in overtime against the Dinos and a Dacin loss at the hands of Taiwan Beer on Friday which netted Pure Youth their highest place in the standings in three seasons, this game had "blowout win by the builders" written all over it.
But that was not the case as "Mr. Hustle" Chang Chih-fong's 26 points helped the Tigers dominate Pure Youth from the beginning. The Tigers racked up 46 first-half points before firing from all directions in a 30-point third quarter to breeze past an emotionally and physically-drained Pure Youth squad.
With the top three spots seemingly destined to be filled by the Dinos, Taiwan Beer and the Numen, the fourth and final postseason berth will be closely contested by the Tigers and Pure Youth.
Bank of Taiwan 50, Leopards 60
The Taiwan Mobile Leopards snapped an embarrassing seven-game losing skid by holding the Bank of Taiwan to a season-low 50 points in a 60-50 decision on Saturday afternoon.
Following a stellar third quarter that brought the bankers from as many as 12 down to force a 45-all draw, the fourth quarter was all-Leopards as they limited Bank of Taiwan to five points in the final 10 minutes to make this one look easy.
Superior rebounding by the Leopards on both ends of the court was the deciding factor in the game, as they held a whopping 47-29 advantage in this category to embarrass the bankers.
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